Injured war veterans will be among the first to benefit from a new partnership between St. John’s and Missouri State University.
St. John’s has agreed to become a senior corporate affiliate with the university’s Center for Applied Science and Engineering, a primary component of Missouri State’s new state-of-the-art Jordan Valley Innovation Center, a multi-million dollar research facility under construction in downtown Springfield and scheduled to open in April.
JVIC’s focus is on applied research in biomaterials, nanotechnologies, advanced technologies, genomics/proteomics, bio-systems software engineering and bio-medical instrument development.
“St. John’s physicians participate in research endeavors because it is critical in the development of new and better medicines, medical devices and surgical procedures,” says ophthalmologist Shachar Tauber, M.D. “This new partnership will allow physicians who have ideas for medical devices, or even patents pending, to have access to researchers, scientists and engineers who can help with development.”
The partnership is expected to make a tremendous impact on the Ozarks region, says JVIC Director Ryan Giedd.

MARRIAGE OF TWO HIGH-TECH CENTERS

“This partnership represents the marriage of the two high-tech centers of research and development in Springfield: JVIC and St. John’s,” Giedd says. “Our projects will potentially revolve around new treatment strategies for our wounded veterans returning from the Middle East. These include projects for alleviating pain associated with prosthetics and new technologies for eye (specifically cornea) surgeries resulting from blast injuries. St. John’s has a wealth of physician expertise that will interface with our other corporate affiliates that can develop and research the technologies needed for these important issues.”
JVIC will house CASE, Missouri State’s Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences (CBLS) and several private nanotechnology companies which, as corporate partners, are developing products in conjunction with the university.
“The scope and importance of the Jordan Valley Innovation Center as a research and economic driver for southwest Missouri continues to expand,” says Jim Baker, MSU vice president for research and economic development. “This partnership is another major step in the development of advanced technology and research capabilities of the region.”

INITIAL PROJECTS

New surgical technologies to treat wartime eye injuries: St. John's ophthalmologist and director of ophthalmology research Dr. Tauber is working with Paul Durham, associate professor of cell biology, at MSU and with other partners to develop a new cornea by using nano-engineered collagen tissues produced by a novel electrospinning technique using a person’s own cells. Approximately 40 percent of war injuries are eye injuries.

Alleviating pain and infection associated with prosthetics: Orthopedist Rick Seagrave, M.D., has consulted with Durham on the development of on-demand painkilling and tissue-repair agents for amputee and burn victims. There are already an estimated 20,000 injuries, often involving burns or loss of limbs, resulting from the war in Iraq. Dr. Seagrave believes that delivering pain medication and antibiotics directly to the injury site through “smart” bandages and prosthetics will lead to quicker healing and less pain for these patients.

Trauma sensors: St. John's trauma surgeon Roger Huckfeldt, M.D., plans to bring his patented sensor for monitoring trauma patients to the JVIC for further development and research